Culture and Communication
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Abstract
The research seeks to establish these students’ cultural valuation while drawing conclusions from their use of Instagram. It predicts that Chinese and American students who used Instagram before and after joining higher learning institutions easily adapt to each other’s culture to become culturally diverse students. The study implies that users of Instagram in both China and America share some values despite cultural variations. For example, all the surveyed users had some privacy levels, such as restricting the people who can view their posts. The research recruits freshmen and second-year students at the local university. The purpose of Instagram will be evaluated in respondents by asking their opinion on the significance of this media and the kind of interactions they get from the platform. Cultural differences between American and Chinese students will also be evaluated in the contexts of Instagram. The inclusion criterion is that the respondents have to be either Americans or ESL students from China with an Instagram account. Instagram is restricted in China, but users login to the site using a VPN. The respondents will be requested to participate in writing a short descriptive essay on Instagram and post their responses to a central position. It is expected that the essays will expose students to mobile learning through a familiar and popular social media tool. The activity aims to weigh the respondents’ openness, creativity, and descriptiveness in giving an account of their experiences.
Introduction
Culture is a phenomenon of human lives that can and has, for a long time, been used to understand a wide range of things in humans. By studying the culture of a group of people, it becomes possible to have an in-depth understanding of how a group of people approaches life, their belief systems, and many other qualities that make them unique. Communication is one of the ways in which groups of people may demonstrate their cultural foundations. Communication and language use is always unique to communities, and its understanding is always essential in helping to understand the cultural dimensions of individuals. In recent decades, technology has become an integral aspect of the communication practices of people from across the world. Modern technologies, including social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other emerging media, have really been critical for communication. Even in the emergence of these communication platforms, it is still possible to see how culture and communication are interconnected. The levels of engagement on these new communication technologies have been critical in facilitating cultural interaction, exchange, and growth among people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Studies have demonstrated that the enhancement of interaction among different groups of people over social media has played a very important role in facilitating cultural exchange. While it was expected that technology might be critical in diminishing the spread of cultures due to some of its inhibiting traits, it is evident that the adaptive nature of communities and cultures has allowed for the sustenance of cultural sharing among different communities with the aid of emerging technologies.
Literature Review
Culture has specific values around the world. It is made unique by norms, traditions, and beliefs, which are easily manifested in users’ social media accounts. The following literature expands on the subject of cultural values between Chinese and American students. The two cultures have significant differences that shape the profiles and usage of Instagram in individuals. In the U.S., Instagram is legally accepted and widely used but unavailable in China, although not a new platform. Individuals access it using a VPN to hide their identities.
Similarities in Cultural Values
Instagram has significant potential in influencing self-perception. A majority of youth in most countries worldwide are connected to this and other social media platforms, which are essential in body images and self-esteem. Chang explored the influence of social media in young-adults through an exploratory study (2016). The control studies were attractive peer images and sceneries on Instagram. It was hypothesized that respondents exposed to these control experiments would have lower-self-esteem and negative perceptions of their bodies than the other respondents. The authors expected the results to inform the significance of social media in shaping cultural values and self-esteem.
The results suggested that exposure of young adults to celebrity images and scenes compromise cultural awareness. Young adults develop low self-esteem and dissatisfaction with body images. The results align with Diliara’s findings that young adults experience equally intense negative feelings when comparing their Instagram posts with celebrities and peers based on the level of attractiveness (2018). Features such as likes and comments are critical on the posts since constructing the body images of users. These features act as a form of approval from society and affect individual perceptions and self-esteem.
Forbush & Foucault-Welles explored social media adaptation in Chinese students commencing studies in the U.S. ESL students in the U.S go through life-changing experiences. Among them is the continuous learning from the American students and the entire community, although it comes at the cost of fitting into this culture (Forbush & Foucault-Welles, 2016).
The researchers demonstrated diverse and large networks in Chinese and American students’ interactions, which optimizes the opportunities for cultural adaptations. The authors attempted to explore the possible impacts of using social media in creating social networks in international students. In answering the research question, they administered online surveys to Chinese students in the U.S. It was established that students that use social media platforms like Instagram during their studies have diverse and larger social networks abroad compared with those that limit their use of these platforms. The students also have higher opportunities for adapting to the new culture and improved academic excellence. The study recommends learning the use of social media (Instagram) in higher learning to increase cultural adaptation in students.
Variations in Cultural Values
Song and colleagues explored users’ attributes on Instagram by evaluating characteristics like gender and age-associated with users’ engagement on this tool. They classified age and gender-based on F1 scores of 74% and 88% in identifying gender and age, respectively. The results suggested significant differences in topic choices between adults and teens and males and females (Song et al., 2018). Teen users demonstrated attachments to human-related topics like faces (selfies) and human actions. In the female, the frequency of posting was influenced by self-belief in high beauty standards and peers’ influence. The use of Instagram in young adults was influenced by the surroundings, such as images of humans and the environment. The study implies that users of Instagram in both China and America share some values despite cultural variations. For example, all the surveyed users had some privacy levels, such as restricting the people who can view their posts. The findings by Song and colleagues conquer those of Akhiar et al., who examined ESL students’ perceptions and attitudes towards using Instagram in English language writing. The researchers preferred this tool because it promotes connectedness, individualism, and opportunities for interactions.
A majority of ESL students feared and felt threatened writing in English. This aspect can be traced back to the cultural background in communication between Western (American) and Asian (Chinese). In the former, communication is direct while it is indirect in the latter. A majority of ESL have confidence issues in addressing target language in written and spoken interactions (Akhiar et al., 2017). This affects writing performance, especially when the students know that the Instagram communities will read their work. It introduces another cultural value of privacy. Akhiar et al. found out that ESL students are reluctant to share their posts with strangers but not the people they know (2017). A majority of ESL students restricted the view of profiles on Instagram to avoid their posts going public. It goes back to the cultural value of individualism in American students and communal relationships comprising a few but strong ties between individuals. The issue may also reflect the cultural value of freedom of speech that is perceived as a fundamental right in American compared to the censorship of information in Chinese communities.
Methodology
Numerous researchers have used Instagram in social media research because it is the most preferred by millennials (Croteau & Hoynes, 2017). A majority of respondents in this study fall under this category. Besides, it has a story function from where followers and researchers can explore individuals in detail. The research design will be a survey to assess the culture in terms of the depth and breadth of their values. This design is preferred because it offers a systematic approach to collecting qualitative data about the study population. The participants will be Chinese and American students in their first and second years of study.
The inclusion criteria will also be an active Instagram account, defined by consistent use in the last three months. The target sample size is a hundred and fifty students. This site is derived from two learning institutions in the community. Participation will be voluntary after informing the respondents about the purpose of the study. The respondents will be requested to complete online surveys comprising variables such as the time they spend on Instagram, the period (frequency of use), and the activities they do on this platform.
The purpose of Instagram will be evaluated in respondents by asking their opinion on the significance of this media and the kind of interactions they get from the platform. Cultural differences between American and Chinese students will also be evaluated in the contexts of Instagram. They will be asked about the challenges they experience in interacting with the new culture. Some of the expected challenges include culture shock and the respondents’ use of Instagram to overcome the problem.
Another aspect that will be evaluated is the contribution of Instagram in creating a sense of community at home and when interacting with new friends. The users will also be requested to give their opinions on if or not they can share their profiles with people such as friends and relatives to gauge the cultural aspect of privacy. The time budget for data collection and analysis is two months. The preparation of the questionnaire will take a week, upon where they will be dispatched to the respondents. The timeframe for filling in and returning the questionnaire is two weeks.
Data cleaning, coding, and analysis will take the longest time of the project. The cleaning process will be conducted to ensure that only quality and reliable data is captured and analyzed. The data will be coded by labeling different variables to identify the relationship between these variables. The labels will be assigned to words that demonstrate central and recurring themes, such as the significant of Instagram to the students in building relationships. SPSS software will be used in data analysis to compare American and Chinese students’ cultural relationships using Instagram. A possible issue that may arise in the research is locating and engaging participants in the study since some may not be willing to participate. This problem will be addressed by recruiting many respondents to increase the chances of a large sample size. Another challenge that may arise in the research is the language barrier, especially in dealing with international students. The problem will be addressed by engaging an interpreter to help ESL students in filling the questionnaires.
The research will recruit freshmen and second-year students at the local university. The inclusion criterion is that the respondents have to be either Americans or ESL students from China with an Instagram account. Instagram is restricted in China, but users login to the site using a VPN. The study assumes that upon the students enrolling in higher education in the U.S., they will have unrestricted access to Instagram. The respondents will be enrolled in three levels of English language courses through Instagram. The research targets a sample size of a hundred and fifty students from learning institutions in the community.
The study will be a mixed design, integrating both qualitative and quantitative data. A mixed study design is preferred because it offers a thorough analysis of the research problem (Akhiar, Mydin & Kasuma, 2017). Respondents will be sampled using stratified random sampling. This technique involves the division of the entire population into smaller sub-groups known as strata sharing similar characteristics. In this study, the respondents will be categorized as either freshmen or second years and as either American or Chinese. This sampling technique is preferred because each stratum (year of study and culture) will be represented equally in the sample.
The respondents will be requested to participate in writing a short descriptive essay on Instagram and post their responses to a central position. It is expected that the essays will expose students to mobile learning through a familiar and popular social media tool. The activity aims to weigh the respondents’ openness, creativity, and descriptiveness in giving an account of their experiences. They will then be required to answer the questionnaire in a focus group discussion, with the primary discussion being the use of Instagram in shaping individual attitudes and values.
The data will contribute to the study’s qualitative and quantitative components, which will be used to make conclusions. The respondents will be asked the following questions: What are your experiences and attitudes using Instagram? How does Instagram influence your learning and social life? How do you perceive Instagram in writing descriptive essays? Does it help you communicate all your thoughts? Do you experience challenges using Instagram as a tool for connecting with friends, classmates, and family members? How do you feel that Instagram should be improved? The identified methodology will help answer the research questions. The questionnaire and descriptive essay will be structured in a format that will help researchers determine American and Chinese students’ attitudes using Instagram. The results will be used in comparing the cultural values of the respondents.
The research involves human subjects and, therefore, attracts strict ethical regulations. Students-participants are considered captive if they directly relate to the researcher (Fouka & Mantzorou, 2011). Students’ ability (respondents) to consent voluntarily is compromised or restricted by their vulnerability to the researchers’ power. Such a setting implies that the researcher should not be a lecturer or a faculty member in any of the sampled universities. The principle of non-harming binds the research. It implies doing the least harm possible when engaging human respondents while maximizing participants’ benefits and other people engaged in the research. In this research, it involves refraining from making the students repeat the essays or questionnaires to fulfill research purposes. This ethical consideration is accompanied by the right to privacy for the participants. For example, their essays will not be accessible to any other party apart from the researchers. Vulnerable respondents such as the students with disabilities will be facilitated in answering the research question without being discriminated against
Presentation and Analysis of data
The sample involved 150 students. Of all these students, 85% indicated to own Instagram accounts. However, only 70% claimed to have been active on Instagram over the past one month. 15% of the population has never had an Instagram account, and neither have they had plans to open the accounts. Among the students who do not have Instagram accounts, it was evident that they never had other social media accounts. Some of them cited bad experiences that they had had with social media, while some just pointed out being ‘tired’ with social media. It is important to note that some of the participants indicated that they had, for some time, been involved in very ugly social media attacks and elements of discrimination that compelled them to deleted social media accounts. Some of the Chinese students suggested that before they deleted their social media accounts, they had been racially attacked, and their desire to use social media to communicate and to interact with other people in the country turned out to be the source of pain to them.
Of the students who admitted to owning the Instagram accounts, one of the motivations that they pointed out for their ownership of such accounts is to help them share experiences. While there are many reasons that compel many students to own and operate Instagram accounts, a majority of the respondents indicated that their desire to own and operate the accounts was necessitated by the desire to share experiences. They indicated that there are images that they meet on Instagram that usually say a lot more than what they would be told in verbal narrations. The Chinese students indicated that there were a lot of things that they desired to learn in their new environment, and according to them, Instagram presented them with an opportunity to learn various aspects of their environment. The Chinese students are not proficient in the English language, and they learned a lot of things on social media. Many of the students indicated that Instagram was a platform that allowed them to learn a lot from their environment. That would not be said of the American students. To the American Students, however, it appeared much as if Instagram is more of an entertainment platform than an information platform. To them, they only use Instagram to share good moments and to make each other happy. What appears on Instagram, according to the American Students, is to be taken lightly since they are always meant to share happiness.
One thing that was evident from how the American and Chinese students used Instagram is that they shared things that reflected individual interests and preferences. While there are students who prefer to post the foods that they consume on Instagram, there are others who post nature or experiences they encounter as they travel from one part of the county to another. It was suggested by some of the students that their desire to make posts about places they had visited was influenced by the need to share what they had encountered with their friends. This argument was common among Chinese students who had indicated that they were interested in sharing their American experience and the American way of life with their friends and relatives back at home. To the Chinese students who are active on Instagram, they reported that they also used the platform not only to make posts but also to go through what other people had posted so that they can learn better about their environment. The Chinese students in the United States believe that there are a lot of things that they need to learn, and the use of Instagram presents them with an opportunity to learn a lot of things about the environment in which they exist.
While it may be impractical to meet and know tens and even possibly hundreds of new people each day, it is evident that social media plays an important role in presenting individuals with an opportunity to meet new people and interact with them at different levels. From the interviews, some of the students recorded that Instagram had presented them with an opportunity to interact with as many strange people as possible, and though they had not met physically, their interactions had made them feel close and acquainted with each other.
There are many of the students who recorded that the use of Instagram played a critical role in helping to improve their attitude towards the environment in which they live. The Chinese students indicated that when they came to study in the United States, they were expectedly hit by a cultural shock that had adverse effects on their stay in the country. The Chinese culture is significantly different from the American culture, so much so that a student from China will always take a very long time to settle in the United States. The cultural aspects of language, food, and other practices are significant enough to cause massive challenges to Chinese students in the United States. There is a need for the students to have a robust presence of support systems for them to cope and integrate into the American culture.
Finally, a significant number of Chinese students intimated that Instagram had become such an important tool in their life that they can no longer do without it. It has become a significant source of the connection between them and their environment, and a result, they cannot see a situation where they can stay for a long time without it. To the students, Instagram is not only a place that keeps them entertained, but it is also a source of connection with the environment and people.
Analysis
Instagram, just like many other social media platforms, plays a very important roles in human lives. As the name suggests, social media facilitates social interaction among individuals and communities. In the process of facilitating social interaction, social media also becomes a critical vessel that makes it possible to have robust cultural exchanges among groups of people. From the interview with the students, it was evident that Instagram played a critical role in enhancing the coping of the students to their new environment. One of the ways in which Instagram influenced them was changing their perception of their immediate environment and life. Through the various contents that are shared by many people on the platform, it became possible for the students to have an in-depth interaction and understanding of nature and the environment. There are many things that individuals can experience when images are presented to them than when people are making statements to them. The use of images on Instagram becomes even more impactful when people are from different cultures.
Since most of the Chinese students who are coming into the United States cannot express themselves in English, this platform perhaps facilitates their communication because it allows them to communicate using images. Instagram makes it possible for people to communicate effectively by sharing images. There are many instances in which people can communicate effectively without saying any words, but images alone may be sufficient. Besides, even when writing is done on Instagram, the words are always very simple and so easy that interpreting them may not a major problem. As indicated earlier on in this paper, a majority of ESL students feared and felt threatened writing in English. This aspect can be traced back to the cultural background in communication between Western (American) and Asian (Chinese). Many Chinese students find it very difficult to communicate in English, the most dominant language used by students in the United States. The inability of the Chinese students to communicate in English denies them an opportunity to make full use of the social and academic opportunities that are available to them in the country. By using Instagram, the Chinese students get an opportunity to not only enhance their communication prowess but also enhance their social and academic activities.
Conclusion
While it was expected that technology might be critical in diminishing the spread of cultures due to some of its inhibiting traits, it is evident that the adaptive nature of communities and cultures has allowed for the sustenance of cultural sharing among different communities with the aid of emerging technologies. Even in the emergence of these communication platforms, it is still possible to see how culture and communication are interconnected. The levels of engagement on these new communication technologies have been critical in facilitating cultural interaction, exchange, and growth among people from diverse cultural backgrounds. This study has ascertained that technology is capable of have positive impacts on cultural development.
References
Akhiar, A, Mydin, A, & Kasuma, A. A. S. (2017). Students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the use of Instagram in English language writing. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 47(72): 2-28. Retrieved from http://mjli.uum.edu.my/images/specialissue/2017/A3.pdf
Akhiar, A, Mydin, A, & Kasuma, A. A. S. (2017). Students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the use of Instagram in English language writing. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 47(72): 2-28. Retrieved from http://mjli.uum.edu.my/images/specialissue/2017/A3.pdf
Chang, N. B. k. (2019). They see me scrolling, and I’m hating: Instagram usage and its effect on self-esteem and body image. Senior Projects Spring. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1310&context=senproj_s20 19 Diliara, B. (2018). The influence of Instagram selfies on female millennials’ appearance satisfaction. Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8458&context=etd
Croteau, D & Hoynes, W. (2017). Media, society: Technology, industries, content, and users. 6th Edition. SAGE Publication, Inc.
Forbush, E & Foucault-Welles, B. (2016). Social media use and adaptation among Chinese students beginning to study in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 50(2016): 1-12. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/551d7402e4b0c1e6d159c088/t/58168ba9bebafb7ee 762b3e3/1477872554768/Social+Media+Use+and+Adaptation+Among+Chinese
Fouka, G & Mantzorou, M. (2011). What are the major ethical issues in conducting research? Is there a conflict between the research ethics and the nature of nursing? Health Science Journal, 5(1):3:14. Retrieved from https://www.hsj.gr/medicine/what-are-the-major-ethical-issues-in-conducting-research-is-t here-a-conflict-between-the-research-ethics-and-the-nature-of-nursing.pdf
Majilang, B. D. (2017). Exposure to celebrities’ Instagram images and its relationships with followers’ perceived self-concept and visual self-representation.
Song, J, Han, K, Lee, D & Kim, W.S. (2018). ‘’Is a picture really worth a thousand words?’’: A case study on classifying user attributes on Instagram. PLoS ONE Journal, 13(10):e0204938. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204938
Song, J, Han, K, Lee, D, Kim, Kim S. W. (2018). ‘’Is a picture really worth a thousand words?’’: A case study on classifying user attributes on Instagram. PLoS ONE Journal, 13(10): e0204938. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204938